Self-feeding pencil



Sept. 8, 1925. L552$$ A. R. NELSON SELF FEEDING PENCIL Filed June 10. 1922 INVENTOR. Avian R-N49Ls'0n BY QM- :4 TTORJl/EY Patented Sept. 8, 1925.

STATES ANTON R. NELSON, O'F STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA.

SELF-FEEDING PENCIL.

Application filed June 10, 1922.

To all whom, it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ANTON R. NELSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stockton, county of San Joaquin, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Feeding Pencils; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in pencils of that type in which the leads are mechanically fed from the end of the holder, th feeding means being controlled by the operator.

It has heretofore been common in certain of such pencils to provide self contained receptacles for carrying extra leads, from which a new lead must be manually removed and inserted into the holder proper whenever a new length of lead is necessary. I The principal object of my invention is to produce a pencil of the above named general character, which is provided with a magazine for the reception of extra leads, from which magazine such leads will automatically pass down into the barrel or feeding chamber in single and continuous sequence without any attention on the part of the operator being necessary to bring this about, so that as one lead is used up, another one is in line in'nnediately behind it, and the only operation then necessary on the part of the operator to engage this lead with the mechanical feeding means is to retract the latter so as to place it in position to move the length of lead forward from its inner end.

This eliminates the necessity of taking the pencil apart in order to getat and insert a new lead, as must be done with the pencils now on the market.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purposes for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Serial No. 567,241.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal View of the penc1l, with the casing in section.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the pencil, with the outer casing removed.

F g. 3 is a similar View, only partially in section, showing the feeding member in its retracted position.

Fig. 4 is a cross section H of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes the outer casing of the pencil, tapering at one end as at 2 to form a cone-shaped tip.

Rotatably mounted in the casing at the end opposite to the tip is a. magazine 3, the outer end of which projects somewhat above the casing.

This end of the magazine is plugged by a removable stopper 4, preferably of rubber so that it may serve as an eraser, which member is normally covered by a cap 5 having frictional engagement with the outer end of the magazine, thus providing a finger-grip means for rotating the member 3 and other parts connected thereto, in the casing.

Preferably formed integral with the magazine is a tube 6, provided with a longitaken on the line tudinal slot 7 extending for the greater portion of its length, this slot being adapted to receive therethrough a. sharp-pointed tip or dog 8 formed with a spring strip 9 which extends lengthwise of but outside the slot and is secured at its end opposite to said tip portion to a. worm wheel 10 slidably but non-rotatably mounted on the tube 6, said worm being preferably longitudinally slit to receive the end of the strip 9, which is cut to form a key slidable in the slot 7, whereby rotation of the worm is prevented without throwing any strain on the more or less delicate tip 8.

This worm engages spiral grooves or teeth 11 cut in the interior of the casing 1 between the inner end of the magazine 3 and the commencement of the taper portion 2, so that when the tube and easing are given relative rotative movement, the worm will move along the tube in one direction or other, depending of course upon the direction of rotation of the tube.

The worm is limited as to its movement in the direction of the magazine by abutting thereagainst, and in the opposite direction by means of a collar 12 fixed on the tube at a predetermined point.

The tube and casing are secured against relative longitudinal movement by any suitable means, as for instance a groove 13 pressed in the magazine about the same which receives a ridge 14 pressed inwardly in the casing 1.

Fitted into the tube 6 and extending from the magazine toward the opposite end of said tube a certain distance is another tube- 15, whose bore IS the same size as the outlet-- from the magazine, which in turn is somewhat larger in diameter than that of the leads 16 carried in the magazine, the length of such leads being slightly less than the length of the slot 7 from the inner end of the tube 15 to the opposite end of said slot. The inner end of the tube 15 is pressed or headed over inwardly to form a flange as at 17, which reduces the size of the bore of said tube at that point so that the leads pass therethrough with a closer fit than they have in the main portion of the tube.

Pressed into the tube 6 at the end thereof opposite the magazine is another tube 18, whose bore in 'such as to snugly receive a lead therein, and the outer end of which projects beyond the tube 6 and is slit longitudinally as at 19 and is pinched in somewhat so as to frictionally yet yieldably engage the lead. This tip seats in the taper portion 2 of the casing 1 near the outer end thereof, which is bored to snugly receive the lead therethrough.

The tube 18 extends inwardly of the tube 6 beyond the adjacent end of the slot 7 somewhat and is slotted through that portion as at 20 to aline with the slot 7.

The inner end of the tube 18 is tapered from the bore outwardly as at 21 so as not to offer interference with the freedom of movement of the leads in that direction.

To fill the magazine and start the pencil in operation, the pawl and worm are retracted by suitable turning of the tube relative to the casing until the pawl is raised out of the slot 7 by coming in contact with, and being moved beyond, the end of the inner tube 15. The cap 5 and plug 4 are then removed, and the magazine filled with leads, certain of which will pass down single file into the tubes 15, 6 and 18, but not outwardly of the latter, owing to the pinched-in tip thereof.

The inner end of the lead in the tube 18 will then lie within the operative length of the slot 7, so that ifthe worm and pawl are then caused to be advanced on the tube said pawl will first move along the surface of the second lead after leaving the tube 15 until it arrives at the crack formed between the ends of the second and first lead, when somewhat thereon due to the first position as above described, when i it may be immediately advanced, and the pawl will shortly drop in behind the second lead, the inner end of which will be slightly advanced beyond the end of the tube 15 as shown in Fig. 3, since as previously stated, the leads are shorter than the operative length of the slot 7. This cycle of operation I may be continued until the magazine is emptied and the last lead therein pushed out as far as possible.

It will be noted that when the pawl is retracted its point slides along the surface of the next or following-up lead, and presses to the spring member 9.

This might cause this lead to be retracted also, which is not desired were it not for the fact that since when the pencil is being manipulated it is held horizontal or at least atv an angle, this lead, being mostly in the large tube 6, will lie on the bottom thereof, and the'fiange 17 on the tube 15 will prevent the lead from entering said tube. This lead then when once in the tube 6, cannot easily backout, and hence will always remain in position to be engaged by the pawl when the latter is again advanced.

It might also seem that some little difficulty would be had in getting the leads to feed down out of the magazine.

This might be so if the pencil were held perfectly stationary and rigid all the time, but it must be remembered that each lead will give at least several hours of uninterrupted service, and whether used continuously .or not, the pencil is subjected to continuous shakingamd movements in almost every direction, so that long before any one lead is exhausted, other leads have filled the tubes above the one being used, in line to be acted on in turn by the feeding pawl.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims. 1

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A self-feeding pencil including a magazine for leads, tube means leading there from to receive the leads in single file from the magazine, said tube having a diameter throughout only sufficient to receive a single lead, and fixed stop means in the tube at a predetermined point and acting to prevent retractive movement of any lead passing therebeyond. v

2. A self-feeding pencil including a magazine for leads, tube means leading therefrom to receive the leads in single file from the magazine, a spring-pawl projecting through a longitudinal slot in the tube and adapted to engage the end of a lead to advance the same, said pawl when being retracted bearin against the periphery of a following lea and means preventing the retraction of said last named lead by reason of the frictional pull of the retracting pawl "therea ainst, I a

3. A self-Ieeding pencil including a magazine for leads, tube means leading therefrom and adapted to receive the leads from the magazine in single fil said tube having a certain portion of its bore larger than that adjacent the magazine, said bores at their junction havin an abrupt shoulder.

4. A self-feeding pencil including a magazine for leads, a tube leading therefrom and adapted to receive the leads in single file,

said tube being longitudinally slotted for a portion of its extent and smaller tubes fixed in said tube adjacent the ends of the slots, that one bf said last named tubes adjacent the magazine being of a size to freely receive a lead and the other one of said tubes being of size to sun ly receive a lead.

5. A self-feeding pencil including a magsaid flange outlining an orifice of a size to closely surround a lead.

7 A self-feeding pencil including a magazine. for leads, a tube leading therefrom and adapted to receive the leads in single file, said tub being longitudinally slotted for a portion of its extent, a smaller tube of a size to freely receive a lead fitted into the outer tube intermediate the magazine and the adjacent end of the slot and a still smaller tube of a size to snugly receive a lead at the o posite end of the outer tube.

. 8. A selfeeding pencil including a magazine adapted to contain a plurality of leads in free and parallel alinement, and open at its outer end, a tube leading therefrom and terminating in a tip from which the leads may be projected one by one, a casing turnably mounted on the magazine and enclosing the tube, the magazine extending somewhat beyond the' tube, and a removable cap fitted onto the projecting portion of the magazine, the latter being open at that end. I

9. A self-feeding pencil including a magazine for, leads, tube means leading therefrom to receive the'leads in single file from the magazine, a spring-pawl pro'ecting through a longitudinal slot in the tu e and adapted to'enga-ge the end of a lead to advance the same, said pawl when being retracted bearing against the periphery of a, followin lead, the diameter of the tube-bore beyond t e inner end of the following lead being of smaller diameter than that of said ture.

ANTON R. NELSON. 

